Insider Selling: Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) EVP Sells 6,320 Shares of Stock

Oracle Co. (NYSE:ORCL) EVP Maria Smith sold 6,320 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.00, for a total value of $1,042,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,889 shares in the company, valued at $7,076,685. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Oracle Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE ORCL traded down $2.86 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $167.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 12,366,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,592,194. The company has a market cap of $464.05 billion, a PE ratio of 45.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.68, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $140.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.95. Oracle Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.26 and a fifty-two week high of $173.99.

Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The enterprise software provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $13.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.23 billion. Oracle had a return on equity of 171.38% and a net margin of 20.40%. Oracle’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.95 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Oracle Co. will post 5.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Oracle Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Oracle’s payout ratio is 43.13%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on ORCL shares. Melius Research raised shares of Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded Oracle from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Oracle from $160.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on Oracle from $159.00 to $171.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Oracle from $160.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Oracle currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $163.88.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Oracle

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Contour Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Oracle by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Contour Asset Management LLC now owns 2,192,950 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $231,203,000 after purchasing an additional 643,490 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp increased its holdings in Oracle by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 29,301 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $3,089,000 after buying an additional 3,291 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Oracle by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 16,995 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock valued at $1,792,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Seven Mile Advisory boosted its position in shares of Oracle by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 5,236 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goelzer Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Oracle by 25.0% during the 1st quarter. Goelzer Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,492 shares of the enterprise software provider’s stock worth $941,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.44% of the company’s stock.

About Oracle

Oracle Corporation offers products and services that address enterprise information technology environments worldwide. Its Oracle cloud software as a service offering include various cloud software applications, including Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP), Oracle Fusion cloud enterprise performance management, Oracle Fusion cloud supply chain and manufacturing management, Oracle Fusion cloud human capital management, Oracle Cerner healthcare, Oracle Advertising, and NetSuite applications suite, as well as Oracle Fusion Sales, Service, and Marketing.